Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writer

Stephen Holder covered the Bucs and NFL for the Times. He joined the paper in 2005 after working since his sophomore year in college at his hometown paper — the Miami Herald — for which he wrote his first published article. While that "story" certainly wasn't award-winning, thankfully editors there eventually trusted him to cover the biggest events in sports, including BCS bowl games, Super Bowls and NBA championships, until he left for the Times nearly 10 years later. He left the Times for the Indianapolis Star in 2013.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bucs RB Doug Martin's night got off to a bad start and got only worse. But he did escape a major injury.

A missed block by Martin contributed to QB Josh Freeman taking a sack on the Bucs' first offensive play in Friday's 25-21 preseason loss to the Patriots. Later, Martin, in pass protection again, went low on Patriots DE Chandler Jones, and one of Jones' knees struck the top of Martin's helmet. ...

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — With no less than depth-chart status, and perhaps roster spots, on the line, maybe it's not surprising the Bucs got inspired efforts from their backup running backs in Friday's 25-21 preseason loss to the Patriots.

Whatever the reason, the sight of Mike James and Peyton Hillis running wild against New England was comforting for Tampa Bay, especially in light of starter Doug Martin's head injury in the first quarter that was ruled not to be a concussion....

Will Tom Brady play tonight against the Bucs? Will the Patriots show any animosity toward Tampa Bay defensive end Adrian Clayborn, whose bull rush led to Brady's knee sprain during a joint practice on Wednesday? How will Clayborn look in his first appearance since tearing his right ACL in Week 3 of last season? How about guard Carl Nicks, who returns from a toe injury?

Times beat reporter Stephen F. Holder will try to answer these questions and more as he blogs live from Gillette Stadium throughout tonight's preseason game between the Bucs and Pats. Join us, starting at 8 p.m....

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — All was well with the world Thursday. The sun rose in the morning, and QB Tom Brady returned to practice in the afternoon.

That was the biggest takeaway from the last of three days of joint practices between the Bucs and Patriots ahead of their preseason game tonight.

Brady, the Patriots' three-time Super Bowl winner, got a scare Wednesday when his left tackle, Nate Solder, was pushed into his planted left leg by Bucs DE Adrian Clayborn. Brady fell to the turf and clutched his knee, though an MRI exam showed no damage. Brady was diagnosed with a sprain, but the mishap caused many hearts in New England to skip a beat or two....

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- All is well with the world. The sun rose today, and Tom Brady returned to practice.

That was the biggest takeaway from the final day of three days of joint practices between the Bucs and Patriots ahead of their exhibition game Friday night.

Brady survived a scare on Wednesday when his left tackle, Nate Solder, was pushed into Brady’s planted left leg by Bucs defensive end Adrian Clayborn. Brady fell to the turf in pain and clutched his knee, though an MRI exam conducted later showed no damage....

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The objective behind the Bucs' visit with the Patriots this week was continued improvement, something that would be achieved by three days of practices against one another.

But when one of the game's greatest players, quarterback Tom Brady, fell to the turf Wednesday and clutched his left knee, the Patriots wondered if that progress would be erased by a monumental setback....

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Patriots quarterback Tom Brady left today’s joint practice with the Bucs with a left knee injury after offensive tackle Nate Solder was thrown into him by a Bucs defender.

The Tampa Bay player, right defensive end Adrian Clayborn, was locked in a battle with Solder and pushed Solder as Brady released a thrown downfield. That’s when Solder fell into Brady’s planted left leg, the same one in which he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2008 and missed the entire regular season....

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- A few of the day’s highlights with the Bucs and Patriots squaring off. . .

*Bucs WR Mike Williams and Patriots CB Aqib Talib – formerly of the Bucs – had an ongoing duel. On the day’s first one-on-one rep, Talib batted down a ball intended for Williams. On their next matchup, Williams dusted Talib with a double move to the inside, catching a pass from QB Josh Freeman....

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Bucs saw a familiar face when they arrived at Gillette Stadium for today’s workouts with the Patriots.

Running back LeGarrette Blount, traded from the Bucs to the Patriots in April, was wearing New England blue and suiting up for the other guys.

He finds himself in a battle to make the roster, but he made headway in that regard with a standout performance against the Eagles in the Patriots’ preseason opener. Blount finished with 101 yards on 11 carries, including touchdown runs of 51 and 1 yards....